Hello all! And now its time for the next chapter. Let us see what happens to Luigi as he heads to save Wario from... whatever is attacking him.

Please enjoy! I own nothing but plot.

Ghosts of Memories Past

Chapter 21: Opening Old Wounds

Luigi wasn't sure which was worse right this moment as he walked to his certain death- the fact he was sticking his neck out for a man who never really liked him or his brother, or the sickening feeling he knew exactly who- or what- it was he was going to have to kill... again.

'Bogmire...' he thought fearfully, taking each step with one mission on his mind- get Wario. And run like hell and hope he didn't have to fight him at all.

Gadd never told him how severe the damage was over at the hospital where Wario was currently holed up fighting for his life. He just knew Wario had his brother's life saving blood in his hands, and he needed it back to him as soon as possible.

"For Mario... just calm down. I'm doing this for Mario..." Luigi reminded himself before he grew distracted and looked down at his arm. His arm still gleamed silver and his back had the capture device still on and ready. He flexed his arm. Felt normal, nothing off. Nothing pulled or anything.

"How exactly is this thing supposed to work, though? Am I supposed to hit them head or... oh no..." Luigi shuddered in thought of doing something so... up close and personal. If he did have to hit the rouge ghosts to catch them, Luigi knew he'd be in a huge disadvantage.

He was a coward at heart. He knew that, no matter what happened or what his brother occasionally tried to tell him. His parents even knew it-he wasn't meant to do anything good... or useful, at the least.

"I mean... I've saved Mario, but he's known all around the kingdom as a hero... and I'm barely remembered as his sibling. Even so..."

He steeled himself and forced his fear down as he finally cleared the haunted forest. It was a bit of a hike to the hospital, and he knew he needed a ride- and fast. He glanced around. The area was covered in fog- not too dense that he couldn't see within 50 feet of his hands, but still thick enough to limit his vision. Sighing, he turned on his flashlight and swept the area.

Nothing. No one. It was empty.

Luigi took a few careful steps forward, sweeping the area in front of him. His heart was pounding, and he was sweaty a bit, but he forced it down. He needed to be alert- anything could jump out and-

"AHHHHH!"

Luigi jumped as something jumped out in front of him. A blob. The green capped plumber staggered back as Bogmire's mini-me kept moving, but in one place.

Luigi blinked. The blob wasn't moving. Not one bit. Bright yellow eyes were locked onto him, watching his every move, but he did not advance. Luigi took a step and paused. No movement. Luigi took another step. Still no movement.

This continued until the blob and the plumber were about arm's length away. Luigi decided now was a good time as any to test out the new weapon, and turned it on. The blob's eyes briefly looked at his arm, then back at him, and shuffled about an eighth of a step to the left. Luigi eased back, arm outstretched. Something about that thing wasn't right.

Bogmire's mini-me versions never acted like that- they usually attacked Luigi. Especially with a weapon so close to its face... yeah, something was wrong.

The blob kept shuffling- an eight of a step- and each time, to the left. Luigi shuffled to the right. This continued for what Luigi felt like forever- and it was getting quite annoying.

Flipping the test arm on, Luigi locked onto the blob and felt the arm pulling air in. The blob wasn't moving at first, but after a few seconds, it began to move towards him. Luigi wondered if there was any way to up the power, and quickly felt around with his free hand, not taking his eye off his enemy.

"Huh... guess it can't suction any stronger. That's real weird, though. But it IS a test, I suppose..." Luigi reasoned as he just stood there. That's when something completely unexpected happened.

On Luigi's shoulder nestled an orb that, up until now, had been completely dark and empty. but as he stood trying to capture the blob, the orb began to light up. It was a white light that glowed brighter and brighter as he felt more power being driven into his arm. Luigi stepped closer to the mini Bogmire, watching with amazement as the arm finally sucked the little thing up completely. The light changed briefly to a purple-ish color, and then went dark once more. Luigi turned the vacuum off and stood there, amazed.

"Woah... that... was actually pretty... cool." He finally muttered to himself before he remembered he still had to get to Wario. A bit more confident in the vaccum's ability, he resumed walking through the thick fog. He really needed to find a faster way to get to Wario.

Speaking of which, Luigi needed to see where he was. He checked his pockets and sighed in relief when he found a phone. It was an old model, so he presumed the phone belonged to Gadd. "What happened to my old cell phone, anyways?"

Checking through the contacts, he was relieved when one of the numbers had a description with it- 'The foul-mouthed yellow hat man'. He smiled. "Thank goodness."

He pressed the dial button and put the phone to his ear. After two rings, there was a loud bang and a hushed, "What?!"

"It's Luigi. Where are you now?" He heard a slamming sound, and a few unsavory words before he added, "And what was that?"

"Like I fucking know! Damn thing got me trapped in the closet at the hospital. Stupid blood... the fuck are you?!"

"I'm on my way to you. Just looking for a faster way there." Luigi kept his guard up and kept walking, kinda glad someone was talking with him, even if it wasn't the person he would want to speak to.

"What the- FUCK!" Wario's breathing sounding harsh as whatever made that noise sounded like it was getting close. "Just hurry up, okay?! It's got me trapped and I don't know how long that door will hold out!"

The call ended. Luigi sighed but he knew Wario was in severe danger. He started jogging, holding the flashlight as steady as he could. He needed to find a bike, a car, anything, to get him to that hospital. Mario's life depended on it!

Luigi made a right turn. As he jogged, he began to slow down. The sky was flashing in an unusual pattern, something that felt oddly familiar, but...

"That thunder... was it supposed to rain today? Huh, weird." Luigi pushed down the sick deja-vu he was sure he was experiencing and starting jogging faster. "Now I have to dodge the rain, too..."

The fog seemed thicker, too. Dense... almost like...

"No... oh no..." Luigi skidded in his tracks. His heart was racing as he knew that he couldn't deny what he was experiencing. His eyes widened in horror as he wished he could unsee what he was seeing.

A few feet ahead, there stood something Luigi had feared he'd see again, but didn't want to- EVER.

"B-Bog... mire..." His legs felt like jelly. Not now, not when his brother needed him...

The purple creature didn't look like the last one he fought. It was darker in purple, much larger than before, and his eyes were no longer yellow. They were glowing a strange ruby red, which cut through the fog. There was no way he could miss something like that.

"N-No... no..." Luigi staggered back, horrified.

Bogmire made a weird growling/wailing noise as he slithered forward towards Luigi's frozen form. Luigi couldn't be sure if it was fear, but he thought he was seeing... blood? Or maybe it was just its eyes reflecting...?

"G-Get back... please, just..." Luigi shook his head, whimpering. He held his hand out, thinking the vacuum would activate on its own, but it was still off. Bogmire was still gaining on him, slowly but definitely surely, and looking worse than when he was first fought.

Luigi staggered back until he tripped and fell flat on his bottom. He stared down Death, certain that he was going to be devoured or worse, when a familiar voice sounded above him. The green-clad man glanced up, and his mouth dropped open.

"N-No, it... Fratello..."

Luigi still sat there, dumbstruck, as an injured Mario stood between him and Death, his arm barely wrapped and bleeding badly. His skin was a near deathly pale color, and his breathing was labored from stunning Bogmire, and saving Luigi's life.

"S-Sorry I'm late, little brother. Are you alright?"

And finally done! Next up is gonna be a battle scene... I really hope this comes out good...

Please let me know what you all think, and I apologize for the late delay.

Until next time!